Make Me Smile
PG for violence, mild coarse language Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors or any of its characters. Firestripe and Lightningpaw are created by myself. ---- The black-and-white she-cat's whiskers twitched as she stared at the still closed door. The silver, small-statured tom approached from behind her and made his way towards the food bowl. "Firestripe?" she suddenly asked. "What?" he replied, still staring ahead "How come you... y-you..." "Spit it out, Stormpelt," Firestripe hissed. She flinched. Firestripe didn't know whether she still preferred being called by her ThunderClan name or her ShadowClan name; nor did he care. "How come you... never smile?" Eagledawn finally prompted. The small tom stopped in his tracks and turned to meet her golden gaze, which in turn met his fiery eyes. When she saw he wasn't answering, she froze. "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." But Firestripe hissed in reply as a warning to be quiet, then sat down in front of her. "Shut up and listen," he growled. ---- "... you have reached six moons..." "... now known as..." "...your mentor will be..." I never listened to these boring, repetitive ceremonies, whether it was for an apprentice, a warrior, an elder or a funeral. They were all the same, and anyway I never cared. So how did she do it? How did she get so close to me? How did she... Make me smile...? StarClan damn you, Blackstar. "... Lightningpaw. Your mentor will be Firestripe." Great. Last thing I needed was some dirty little rabbit following me everywhere. Knowing I couldn't escape this terrible fate, I padded up to the blue-gray furball and lowered my head, closing my eyes. She was a considerably small figure, perhaps she would be a bit smaller than myself when she grew up. A second later, I felt her soft nose press against mine, and as she respectfully licked my shoulder I sniffed slightly so I could know just how much dung was touching me and how much I needed to wash afterwards. Surprisingly, she was clean, but that had to be something she would maintain. I opened my eyes and that was when I caught sight of a piece of moss clenched onto her rump, and I grunted slightly, accidentally frightening her, her fear-scent waving its way up to my nose. I held back the urge to scowl at her, but I just stared into the apprentice's eyes instead. We had some work to do. Her eyes were bright, amber and eager to please. Good. That means she'll at least listen. When the cheers started, she jumped, then lowered her ears and trembled a bit. It was clear she enjoyed all the noise as much as I did; which was not at all. "Sparrowpaw! Dewpaw! Mistpaw! Lightningpaw!" The meeting disbanded with Rowanclaw, Crowfrost and Dawnpelt sitting in the middle of the clearing with their new apprentices. Reluctantly, I flicked my tail at her and she followed me towards them, then I sat next to Rowanclaw, who was once my mentor. "Crowfrost! Can't we start now?" Sparrowpaw whined. "We'll start when I say so," Crowfrost answered, flicking his ears in annoyance. "I'm hungry..." Dewpaw muttered. "We'll eat after training today," Dawnpelt groaned. "WOW MY MENTOR'S THE DEPUTY THIS IS SO AMAZING WILL I BECOME LEADER SOMEDAY?!" Mistpaw screamed at the top of her lungs. Not a chance, idiot. "That's unlikely. You're not my first apprentice, that much is obvious," Rowanclaw mewed. "Well... looks like we'll have a hard time with all our apprentices," Dawnpelt sighed. "I'd be a bit jealous of Firestripe, wouldn't you?" Crowfrost commented. At that I stared down at Lightningpaw. True enough she was relaxed and quiet, unlike the other new apprentices. I made a mental note to never take Kinkfur as a mate; it was clear she bred the spawn of the Dark Forest. Not that I considered taking Kinkfur as a mate, nor any cat at all. Mates were annoying. They never leave you alone and you have to clean up after them, all in the name of... love. I inwardly shuddered at the word. "Firestripe was a great apprentice with me, even having surpassed my ability - much more every cat of the whole forest - so, of course, he deserves a good apprentice in return," Rowanclaw commented. Knowing Rowanclaw, he would care more about how I was born pure ShadowClan. Yet the deputy always eyed me at the mention of any cat with 'Storm', 'Pelt', 'Eagle' or 'Dawn' in their name. In all honestly I thought he was too proud of his birth. Or just that he hated ThunderClan for being mostly mixed blood. Nevertheless, I gave him a nod of small thanks in return for his compliment, and he smiled. "YOU WERE ROWANCLAW'S APPRENTICE TOO?!" Mistpaw gasped. "ROWANCLAW APPRENTICE BUDDIES!" At that the mentors all laughed, except for me; I groaned. She leaped on me. This dirty little furball touched me. "Stop it! We're not kits anymore, and we can't act like this while we're warriors! If something really bad happens and you're all screwing around this clan won't be able to survive!" Lightningpaw stepped in. Mistpaw backed away, rushing back to Rowanclaw. I raised my muzzle and stared down at her. "Assertive, too. I like you," Crowfrost grinned. The small she-kit meowed thanks to him. Maybe mentoring this one wouldn't be so bad, after all. She was'' mostly'' clean, the rest she could be taught, assertive as Crowfrost stated, best of all she understood when she should shut up, and she was determined to please me. But all good things come with a heavy price, that I knew. And I would find that out much later. Another good sign was when she was the earliest to retreat to the apprentice's den when night fell. I gave a heavy sigh and stepped in. All of the apprentices stopped their nightly chatter and stared at me. Poor Lightningpaw was just sitting curled up in her nest and unable to sleep because of the noisy mice that were eying me. I glanced around, puffing out my chest, and fake-sneezed. They got the message and all instantly began cleaning. I could see my own apprentice working extra-hard, using her tail to ward away the dust and let it fly out of the den. By the time they had finished it was almost moonhigh, yet I let Lightningpaw rest early. She obeyed. This was a continued procedure. When I woke up the next morning I was at least happy not to be woken up by my apprentice like Crowfrost was. Sparrowpaw was too excitable for his own good. When I padded out, stretching in the morning sun and blinking the sleep away, there Lightningpaw sat beside the camp entrance with a pigeon in her mouth. When I approached she offered it to me. After sniffing the bird to make sure it was clean, I took it from her and gulfed it down. This apprentice wanted to please, and that was exactly what she was doing. She must have known, too, because she smiled warmly at me. ---- "I took her out to show her the borders, and at the river I saw you, Eagledawn. You were there with your son, the elders, Graystripe, Jayfeather and Briarlight. At the time I wondered what on StarClan it was you were doing there. I knew you were close to Jayfeather as a friend of his, but what you were doing with Graystripe and the elders was what confused me. It still does," Firestripe told the black-and-white she-cat that sat in front of him, listening to his story. "I had a daughter, Firestripe, called Breezekit. Soon after she was born she fell in the river and died. Flameclaw found her body. Graystripe was the father of my kits, but -- it happened unintentionally," Eagledawn explained. "Idiot," Firestripe scoffed. "Oh, yes, aren't I," Eagledawn replied sarcastically, "right... well... continue." ---- Every day Lightningpaw went to sleep early, sat at the entrance with an offering of prey, before she followed me out to begin the lesson. Then we would return to camp in time for sunhigh to share tongues. Afterwards we would discuss what she learned, and if she needed to improve on any areas we'd train until she did, and then go on hunting. At the end of the day I would always order the apprentices to clean their den as they were bad tenants, and she would work extra hard and I'd let her rest early. It was strange; I had heard that apprentices were meant to be hard to train, always opposing your word and running off and not listening. But I never had to scold her, or punish her. She trained all the clan's hunting and fighting skills perfectly. Her main problem was stamina. How ever skilled she was, she never could last long on the battle field, and she was weak; but I let that pass. After all, she was quick-witted and clever. I found she worked best in a team. That night I had stayed up, patrolling the territory by myself and keeping all my senses sharp for any intruders. I stopped at the Burnt Sycamore and opened my muzzle, trying to scent anything nearby. There were no intruders, and I even caught scent of a nearby lizard. I dropped into a hunting crouch, narrowing my eyes and ready to spring, when something jumped from the undergrowth. Instead of meeting my prey, I met an attacker. Quick as the wind, I ducked and turned, avoiding the intruder. I unsheathed my claws and prepared for battle, but then I felt something batting at my rump furiously. I turned to face my three other attackers, only to meet recognisable amber eyes gleaming at me. I instantly relaxed and nodded slightly. "Good job," I simply mewed, "you performed that well." I next gazed at Dewpaw, who was holding a dead lizard in her jaws. "You caught that?" "Lightningpaw did. She said it would lure anyone who was stealing prey," the grey she-cat mewed. I glanced at my apprentice, inwardly impressed. "Well done. All of you clean yourself tomorrow morning, you look like rats. Let's get back to camp," I ordered. They obeyed, and I followed them, the tail of the lizard Dewpaw still held in her jaws almost touching the ground. Grunting, I took the prey off of her and placed it in the fresh-kill pile myself. Then came the next day... "I know these are ShadowClan skills, but yours are different, right? That's how you're the best warrior of the forest. Can I learn your skills?" Lightningpaw asked me, curiously staring into my fire-like eyes. I perked an ear at her question before deciding I knew exactly what I was going to do. "That's a stupid question. Watch me and see if you can keep up," I answered, crouching my hind legs then leaping onto the trunk of a nearby tree sideways. I pushed myself off and let the wind carry me to the next pine, and repeated in a circle. While still moving, I saw my apprentice as she desperately searched for me. I was amused, yet I didn't show it. I stopped at a tree in front of her and jumped off, landing in front of her. "You're too fast!" the blue-gray apprentice gasped. I was pleased at Lightningpaw's answer, and so I walked away. I signalled with a flick of my tail for her to follow, then stopped beside a shallow part of the river and pointed my tail to the closest pine tree. "You try," I commanded. I saw her eyes widen and she opened her mouth to protest, but she followed my order anyway. I watched as she reluctantly approached the tree, crouching down then leaping. She landed, but panicked and fell in the river with a splash. Nearby I heard a cat laugh while Lightningpaw emerged, dripping wet and embarrassed. "What are you doing here?" I asked my former mentor. "Getting some time away from Mistpaw. What are you doing?" Rowanclaw replied. "Teaching my apprentice," I answered as the aforementioned plopped down heavily next to me, still dripping. "And what has she learned today?" he smiled mischieviously. "Never try to learn Firestripe's secrets," Lightningpaw muttered. "Exactly," Rowanclaw let out a mrrow of laughter, "Well, I'll get going. You have fun." "Let's get back," I meowed, to which she agreed. Nothing could be more pleasing to her than the sound of a warm nest right now, I guessed. She stopped before entering the camp to ask me a sudden question. "Why do you never smile?" she asked. I thought about it for a moment before giving an honest answer. "I have no reason." "There's plenty of reasons! Like, being alive, catching prey!" she argued, "even little things, like watching your apprentice succeed..." And if that was trying to make me feel the least bit guilty, it was working. "But you always look sad... why?" When I didn't speak, she continued. "Maybe I should teach you?" Then she smiled her usual, bright, warm smile after she would hand me fresh-kill in the morning, except this one was a bit different. It was contagious. I quickly turned back to try and hide my new expression, but she knew. "StarClan damn you, Blackstar..." That leader knew exactly who he wanted to give me. I just... I just smiled... This apprentice, my apprentice, Lightningpaw, was the only cat in my whole life that had made me smile. I felt horrible, but I also felt happy. I was exposing the latter, and I couldn't believe it. "I did it!" she giggled. "Keep it to yourself," I groaned in reply. "Yes. Of course!" She obeyed that command in the end, and she was obviously proud of herself. Our conversation of the day was one I would recall. "Do you have a family here?" Lightningpaw asked. Nowadays I didn't mind her curiosity. She didn't tread on my tail, after all, and it never hurt to answer her. "I was born to Silverfall and Shadeleaf. Silverfall's still a warrior here, but Shadeleaf's an elder in ThunderClan. I had two sisters, Shademark and Stormpelt. Well, it so turns out Stormpelt was actually born in the midst of a battle between ThunderClan and ShadowClan. Shadeleaf took her. When she was revealed to be the daughter of Shimmerstripe and her real name is Eagledawn, he was exiled. Shademark moved to WindClan with her kits, Shimmerpaw, Crowpaw and Stonepaw," I explained. What had occurred at the Gathering where you were revealed was not for mention. I knew that. About six moons after Lightningpaw was apprenticed I came to Blackstar for conversation. Seeing his signal for me to enter, I did so and began. "I believe Lightningpaw is ready to be made warrior. She has learned all the hunting and fighting skills required, and follows the warrior code with honour," I told him. He nodded. "I see. I will inform her. Her ceremony will be in two days. I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment. For now, continue training her," Blackstar replied. "Good," I finished, leaving him to his silent thoughts and padding out to finish the day off. Lightningpaw wasn't there in the morning this time, but when I opened my mouth I scented her nearby, reassuring me that she was near, probably already having been told about her upcoming ceremony. As I was leaving, I froze at the tunnel exit. When did I care for others so much? ... Ever since she made me smile. I left the camp and stopped at the river. She'll scent me, I thought, as I had made no effort to cover my tracks. Sure enough, she did find me after a short while. I praised her, and we had a conversation that I can't remember right now, but then she froze. "Are you... crying?" she asked. "What...?" I questioned. "No, you never taught me how to do that." Just then I felt a trickle of liquid on my cheek. I wiped it and stared at my paw. There was a disgusting green puss on it. "Ugh... what IS that?" I gagged. "I think you might be sick," she quickly meowed, seeming a bit disturbed. Now that I thought about it, I did feel less stronger than usual. I felt my legs shivering a bit, then I realised that it wasn't cold enough for me to do that yet. "I think you're right," I scowled, dipping my paw in the water then wiping it on the grass. How such a terrible fate found me was beyond my imagination. When I heard a deep, raspy snarl I immediately recovered my strength, instantly throwing myself in front of Lightningpaw and drawing my lips back to snarl in reply. "What is that?!" she screamed at the large, black-and-white, bloodthirsty creature. "Badger! Run back to camp!" I ordered. Without hesitation, she disappeared. I jumped onto the trunk of the same pine tree Lightningpaw fell off when she tried to learn my personal techniques, and, before the badger could react, I had already leaped at it and slashed the back of its neck open, its blood showering my claws and under the tip of my tail. It thrashed and turned against me. I avoided its attacks until it bled out and died. With a huff of worry, I ran towards camp. The scent of blood was faint, due to my sickness I guessed, but I knew it was closer than I smelled it to be. I also knew it wasn't badger blood. No. NO. Something happened. Something happened to her. I was half-relieved when I saw Dewpaw's grey pelt, her back slashed from the left flank to the right as she was hung from a low branch. Stoically, I continued, remaining hopeful that Lightningpaw would be waiting for me. Traumatised, but alive. I saw the spiky pale Mistpaw, who was torn in half, her tendons still clinging desperately to her other half. Then I saw Sparrowpaw, his large, brown underbelly ripped and bleeding a river, against a tree. I stopped when I saw the last body, throwing some dirt unintentionally when I did. Its cracked spine faced towards me, bent backwards in half, the lower body on the floor and the upper body on a tree. The right part of its face was smeared in its own blood. Its half-closed amber eyes, facing towards the sky, were dull and lifeless, compared to the bright and eager ones I once saw everyday. Its blue fur was soaked in red, creating a sort of purple in some areas, and its mouth hung open, but not in a warm, contagious smile. "You taught me how to smile. But the last time I'll smile is when I see the blood of the monster that did this to you on my paws. And I might not even clean it off," I promised the corpse. I saw the blood that traced the path of the badger. It ran. They fear me. Good. Let them. I followed the path in a sprint, and, despite my sickness, this was the fastest I'd ever ran. Not soon after I caught up with the black-and-white beast, the white stripe covered in crimson red. "Hey. Are cats tasty?" I called, "Answer me!" It didn't. I knew that, but I asked anyway. Instead, it turned and struck at me, but I leaped next to its right flank and sprung on its back, tearing its neck open with deadly savagery in my eyes. I jumped in front of it and held one paw on its neck, the other ripping into its chest and pulling out a red, blood-covered but beating heart. Whilst I was doing so, I didn't need to scent it. I could feel that the badger was terrified, and I loved it. And I smiled. I finally tore it out and the beating stopped, the badger falling to the ground with a heavy thud and never even twitching again. It was dead. A sudden guilt washed over me; when did I become so savage? She would not have liked this. I dropped the heart and lowered my head, lumbering back to the bloodbath that was where the badgers attacked the apprentices. That was the last time I ever smiled, when I tore out the heart of the badger, because if I did, I would feel more like a beast straight from the Dark Forest tearing out the heart of a terrified victim rather than a cat seeking revenge for a dead friend. I retraced my steps back to Lightningpaw's small body and held her by her scruff, carrying her back to camp. I laid her in the centre of the clearing, where everyone watched in shock. I stared into her dead, dull and now grey, eyes, and now I recall a conversation we had by the river before I began to show symptoms of any illness. She looked brighter than ever, which I didn't know was possible, as if the sun was reflecting off of her. Maybe it was. I couldn't tell the difference. Obviously Blackstar had already told her of what was coming tomorrow. "Firestripe! My warrior ceremony's tomorrow! What kind of warrior do you think I'll be? What about my name?" she almost squeaked. Honestly, if it was any one else who was acting this way with me, I would have been annoyed. But I could never be annoyed with Lightningpaw. She taught me how to change my lips to a more upward position to represent an emotion I hardly knew, after all. "I think you might take second best warrior. As for your name, something like Lightningheart would suit you. You're bright, and you can be very powerful," I responded. My answer confused myself. I never would have acted this way with anyone else. But she didn't know that, she was young and only heard rumours about me. She knew me for what she saw in her experience. Everyone else saw something different in me. She purred in happiness at my response. "Hey... Firestripe... I just want you to know, you were the best mentor anyone could ever wish for," ... Clearly you haven't talked to other cats much... "I'll miss having you teaching me. And... all the cleaning was worth it." "Well, I never said the cleaning was over, did I? And relax, none of us will be gone by tomorrow. Also... thank you for being tolerable," I purred. I felt fur brush against me, and almost pulled back until I realised that the blue-gray she-cat was hugging me. And I smiled. Irony is fox-hearted. Category:PG Category:Warrior cats